This invention relates in general to a form-fitted chest protector for athletes and more particularly to increasing the amount of protection for the athlete without compromising the athlete""s mobility.
Padded chest protectors for baseball catchers are known in the athletic equipment industry. Known chest protectors include a main padded portion shaped to overlay the athlete""s chest and abdomen. The main padded portion is a uniform thickness and is semi-rigid to conform to the catcher""s chest and abdomen. However, the main padded portion is sufficiently impact-resistant to absorb the impact of a baseball.
Chest protectors also include a plurality of adjustable straps for securing the chest protector to the catcher. One set of straps extend over the catcher""s shoulders and another set of straps extend around the catcher""s sides. The two sets of straps extend to the catcher""s back where the straps are secured to one another.
Chest protectors may also include a protective shoulder wing extending outward from the main padded portion and over the juncture between the upper arm and the shoulder. Typically, the wing is only used on one side of the chest protector to protect the catcher""s throwing arm. However, the wing is not directly attached to the athlete""s throwing arm so as to not obstruct forward arm movement.
Some known chest protectors may also include a pair of protective side portions integrally formed with the main padded portion. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,847 to Buhler discloses a chest protector having extensions 16 extending from chest protecting portion 12. The extensions 16 are defined by the greater width of the chest protecting portion 12. The protective side extensions 16 extend around the catcher""s sides toward the catcher""s hips. Typically, protective side portions such as extensions 16 are made of the same padding material and are the same thickness as the main padded portion over the chest.
Known chest protectors are usually manufactured in only a few different sizes and, therefore, a suitable chest protector cannot be found for all athletes. In particular, the protective side portions are a fixed size and extend from the main padded portion in a fixed manner. These known protective side portions are not adjustable. Consequently, a catcher may not be adequately protected because of the many different shapes and sizes of today""s baseball players.
Accordingly, there is a need for a chest protector suitable for many different sizes of catchers. The chest protector must provide protective side portions which extend from the main padded portion along the catcher""s side in an adjustable manner without compromising the catcher""s mobility or flexibility. Moreover, the new chest protector must provide increased protection for the chest from impacting baseballs.
Additionally, chest protectors are generally loose fitting and designed solely to protect the frontal portion of a catcher. Accordingly, with the dynamic positioning of the catcher, these chest protectors will move about requiring the catcher to constantly reposition the chest protector into position.
Thus, there is also a need for a close-fitting chest protector which will generally maintain a protective position while not interfering with the catcher""s movements.
The present invention solves the above-identified problems by providing a chest protector with increased padding and which is adapted to cover more of the athlete""s body in a tailored manner. This new chest protector is suitable for use with athletes of many different sizes, while extending more completely around the sides of the athlete""s body providing a secure fit.
Generally described, the present invention includes a chest protector having a pair of detachably secured wing portions. A main portion of the chest protector substantially overlies the chest and abdomen of the athlete. The chest protector also has a variable thickness; providing thicker padding in areas more likely to incur impacts and thinner padding in areas less likely to incur impacts. The detachable wing portions are separate from the main portion, but may be attached to the chest protector to permit each wing portion to be adjustable when the chest protector is worn by the athlete.
In one embodiment of the invention, the main portion of the chest protector also includes a plurality of fold lines defining raised impact-absorbing surfaces therebetween. The raised impact-absorbing surfaces each include a downward-deflecting surface for directing an incoming projectile downward towards a general area after the projectile impacts the chest protector whereby the catcher may quickly locate the projectile.
The foregoing has broadly outlined some of the more pertinent aspects and features of the present invention. These should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed information in a different manner or by modifying the disclosed embodiments. Accordingly, other aspects and a more comprehensive understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims.